


The Sexual Implications of Telepathy

by brittanysnowshands



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, Telepathy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:34:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23390275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brittanysnowshands/pseuds/brittanysnowshands
Summary: Beca has telepathy and she accidentally hears Chloe having some... thoughts about her.
Relationships: Chloe Beale & Beca Mitchell, Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell
Comments: 30
Kudos: 208





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title is a parody of Care's "The Sexual Implications of Teleportation" which is amazing, go read it.  
> Follow me on tumblr @brittanysnowshands

“Next up in the ICCA semifinals, the Barden Bellas!”

Beca feels her heart dip into her stomach. As Chloe rushes to join the single final line in the wing, she pauses next to Beca and kisses her on the cheek.

“That’s just a sneak peak for when we win!”

If Beca’s heart was in her stomach before, it’s in her toes now, and her stomach’s been replaced with butterflies. She feels simultaneously hot and cold, and her cheek thumps with the reminder of the way-too-quick kiss. Chloe’s seen her in the shower for god sakes, but this is the first time she’s ever felt Chloe’s lips against her body. Chloe’s strawberry shampoo reminds Beca of all her other memories where Chloe was close to her face (which, granted, is a lot of times. Chloe doesn’t exactly honor Beca’s personal space).

If she had time, she would blush at the amount of times that that very strawberry shampoo had been in her dreams. At that sudden realization, Beca’s feet feel glued to the ground, and she doesn’t come to until Fat Amy whisper-yells, “hurry up, pipsqueak!” and grabs her by the hand.

Beca can’t unpack all of that until later because the Bellas file onto the stage, and Aubrey blows the pitch pipe as soon as everyone reaches their spot. Right when the Bellas start their ancient rendition of “The Sign”, Beca hears a crystal clear, “NOT AGAIN!”.

The exclamation is so loud that it echoes inside her head. Feeling pretty pissed off, she sneaks a glance to her left and right to gauge the others’ reactions to the disruption in their head pieces. Amazingly, no one else is reacting, and Beca chides herself for reacting to the distraction. If the other girls can handle it, then she can too.

As soon as the Bellas reach the chorus, Beca is bombarded with more verbal traffic in her ear.

“I’m so hungry I could eat a wallaby!”

“I thrive off of this positive energy from the audience!”

“God that was ridiculously obvious.”

“I’m so bored!”

And hundreds of other statements bounce around Beca’s head. Her brain feels like it's been picked up in a tornado and whirled around her skull like a spinning top. Her head is pounding, and suddenly a cappella semi finals and Chloe's mark on her cheek and Chloe’s concerned eyes from two Bellas over are miles away as Beca can only see stars, and then nothing.

* * *

Beca doesn’t feel like she can breathe until she’s safe inside the soundproof radio booth back at Barden. When Luke asked her if she could pick up a few shifts over spring break, she jumped on the opportunity impossibly fast. Obviously, she wanted as much experience in the booth as she could get, but she planned on unwinding over spring break, and probably would have given the request more thought before everything happened.

Beca puts on one of her tracks and leans back, her mind finally relaxed enough to think about the past few days.

The Bellas came in third. Which is exceptional considering the performance ended with Beca literally passing out center stage, but apparently a perfect routine and a little sympathy goes a long way. Still, Beca can’t help but think that they could’ve come in first or second if Beca didn’t faint.

Beca regained consciousness to the sound of applause, all of the bellas huddled over her, and Chloe kneeling at her side. Aubrey spoke first.

“What the hell, Beca? Did you not follow my hydration routine? Someone get her some water!”

Beca shook her head, saying she had plenty of water before the performance. She assured everyone that she was fine, that it was a mixture of nerves and the bright lights that were a toxic combination. The others believe her, but as she was helped up by Chloe she remembered what actually happened and knew that she wasn’t telling the truth. And by the look in Chloe’s eyes, she could tell that Chloe knew too.

As if she heard her thoughts, Beca’s phone lights up with a notification from Chloe.

**Chloe**  
_Just got my nodes out xx_

**Beca**  
_Excuse me?? Why didn’t you say anything??_

**Chloe**  
_I didnt think it mattered cuz were not moving on w/ the Bellas_  
_and I didnt want to worry you xx_  
_Now I definitely can’t say anything for a while lol_

**Beca**  
_Dude. Text me ur address_

* * *

Four hours later, Beca is standing outside Chloe’s Floridian hospital room with flowers in one hand and ice cream in the other. She paid a ridiculous amount for both of them at the gift shop, but it doesn’t even matter because Beca just wants Chloe to feel better as soon as possible. She knows it’s probably overkill, but she couldn’t help herself.

During her elevator ride up, Beca was hit by sudden nerves. She hadn’t really checked if Chloe wanted her to come and she drove to Florida off of pure adrenaline and caffeine. What if Chloe doesn’t want her there? What if she’s mad at her for ruining their chance at second or even first place in the semi finals?

She shakes that final thought off quickly though. The Bellas were quick to assure her that it wasn’t her fault, that her faint was barely noticeable since it was at the very end of their song, that they probably would have come in third anyways. Fat Amy even goes ahead and combines Aubrey’s Vomitgate from the year before with Beca’s fainting spell in a video that plays each grotesque finale in a continuous loop for five hours straight. Everyone agrees that it’s time to retire the song because of its “satanic voodoo” (thanks Lily).

With one final deep breath, Beca steps into Chloe’s hospital room.

Beca spots Chloe on the other side of the curtain, looking out the window. She’s still in her hospital gown and hooked up to the IV to her left, but the golden hour sunlight streaming through the window makes her look healthy enough to leave at any second. Beca marvels at the silhouette of her jaw line, her hair that looks like it's on fire.

At that thought, Chloe looks over at Beca, who’s still standing a few feet away by the curtain. Beca blushes and immediately looks down at the presents in her hands.

“You’re here!”

The shocking volume of Chloe’s statement surprises Beca so much that she doesn’t even think about the impossibility of the situation. Beca looks up and says, “Well… yeah. Of course I’m here. Is that okay?” and steps closer to Chloe’s bed concerningly.

Chloe's wide, sloppy smile quickly turns into a look that seems to say “what are you talking about?” as she reaches for a whiteboard and expo marker on her bedside table that Beca is just noticing.

Beca only has to wait a few seconds as she writes on the board, but it feels like forever. Her mind reels as a thousand thoughts fleet through her brain. She can’t speak?! Then how.. Maybe she’s just not allowed to speak and got so excited she for-

Chloe interupts her thoughts by turning the board towards her. It messily reads, “I didn’t say anything? :P Glad ur here tho!!”. At that, Beca all but collapses on Chloe’s bed. She catches herself on Chloe’s thigh, crinkling the flowers as she quickly and embarrassingly pushes herself up and springs back a few feet.

“Am I making you this flustered?” comes from somewhere in the back of Beca’s skull. The voice has no tone, no notes to it but Beca instinctively knows that it's Chloe from the sweet feeling in her gut. The instant recognition is like smelling something and being transported to a hyper specific memory that plays in your head for a split second, and then disappears. Beca notes that she’s of course flustered, but she’s not about to tell Chloe that because she doesn’t even know if she asked her out loud.

“So you… can’t speak?” Beca chokes out.

Chloe raises an eyebrow and reaches for her white board.

Beca doesn’t even see the answer because she collapses onto the empty bed opposite Chloe, the flowers and ice cream falling to the floor. Chloe gives her an unreadable look as she stares at her, looking awfully pale all of a sudden and biting her lip, which isn’t moving an inch. Beca doesn’t have to wait long to figure out her expression, as the answer practically broadcasts in her head.

“I knew I was going to fuck everything up by being too forward. But I did it anyways. You just looked so nervous backstage and I had to make it better! Your cheek looked so soft and I had to know what it felt like. Against my lips. I’ve had that urge since I first saw you. But every time I got close enough to you, I chickened out. I was so full of adrenaline that I couldn’t even control myself, and I felt my body lean forward and kiss you. And yeah, in a normal flirting situation I would like smile sweetly or something after kissing your cheek but the look on your face made me backtrack and say something stupidly light and treat it like a joke. And now you’re acting like you don’t know how to act around me anymore. Even though you just drove four plus hours to see me. And even though you’re mad at me and I literally just had surgery inside my throat I’m still thinking about kissing you properly right now!”

Beca stares at her, open-mouthed as Chloe’s words echo inside her head. Like… What?! She can either hear Chloe’s thoughts or she’s going through some sort of psychosis, and she’s not sure there’s much of a difference. Also, did Chloe just say she wanted to kiss her? Properly?! No, she obviously didn’t say that because she can’t even speak at the moment. But Beca definitely heard Chloe’s rant in one capacity or another. She accepts that as reality and is instantly filled with guilt at possibly hearing Chloe’s innermost thoughts. Chloe’s probably high on painkillers right now and Beca feels like she accidentally took advantage of her susceptibility.

Before she can hear any more, Beca sweeps up the flowers and ice cream and puts it on Chloe’s bed, swiftly kisses her forehead, and rushes out of the room, yelling, “bathroom!” over her shoulder as she exits.


	2. Chapter 2

Beca pretty much stays cooped up in her dorm room for the rest of spring break. She only leaves her room to go to her shifts at the radio station and occasionally to scavenge for food in the one dining hall left open over break. She finds that when she does go out, her brain works like a short range radio, picking up strangers’ thoughts wherever she goes. 

Once, she accidentally brushed hands with the person who scooped french fries onto her plate and the resulting noise nearly made her sink to her knees. So, she understandably sticks to ramen after that.

She barely remembers her trip home after visiting Chloe besides a quick phone call from Aubrey saying that the group that came in second at the semi finals was disqualified, and the Bellas were back in. She was able to feign excitement in her voice during that short phone call, but once she hung up, she started to dread the competition. She didn’t know how she was going to handle being in such a crowded room again with zero control over her thoughts. That, plus she has no idea how she’s supposed to act normal around Chloe anymore. 

Beca’s never been super great in the making-friends-department. Actually, that’s a lie. Initial conversations and small talk are no problem, it’s sticking around long enough to call someone a friend that’s proven difficult. Beca knows she’s an introvert at heart, and contributing to making a friendship more than one sided tends to exhaust her. 

But with Chloe, sticking around was no longer up to Beca. Chloe always made sure to include her in the Bellas plans, texted her screenshots of semi-funny tweets throughout the day, and showed up at her dorm room unannounced. Showing up at the hospital to support Chloe probably would have pushed them over the edge from just friends to _good_ friends. And if Chloe’s drug induced thoughts meant anything, it means she wants to be even _more_ than good friends. Beca hadn’t really considered that until Chloe kissed her cheek backstage. Actually, Beca had never considered liking another girl before Chloe. But Beca knows she messed that all up.

Beca had opened her messages with Chloe right after getting back to Barden but had no idea what to say. She typed and deleted excuses for at least ten minutes before settling on saying that she forgot she had dinner plans with her dad and had to rush home without saying goodbye. Which technically was true, but Beca obviously didn’t show up. 

Chloe didn’t respond.

Her phone buzzed with a notification earlier in the day, but when Beca saw it was only from Jesse she practically threw her phone across the room. Now, as Beca lies in bed, bored out of her mind but not ready to sleep yet, she finally opens the text.

**Jesse**   
_Becaw!!_

Beca rolls her eyes and almost doesn’t respond, but realizes she can’t afford to shut _everybody_ out of her life.

**Beca**   
_What._

**Jesse**   
_Ooh feisty. R u still on campus_

**Beca**   
_Yeah_

**Jesse**   
_Yay!! I just got back. Wanna hang??  
I think the only ppl on campus r u me and benji_

The thought of being around people again freaks Beca out. Plus, Beca’s pretty sure Jesse has at least a little bit of a crush on her and she does _not_ want to accidentally hear about that. God, when did her ego get this big?

**Beca**   
_I’m kinda tired.  
_

Jesse doesn’t answer and she figures that’s the end of their conversation until she hears a knock on her door a few minutes later. Rolling her eyes despite her nerves, Beca gets up to answer it. She makes a split second decision to not speak to Jesse at all. She can’t risk responding to something that wasn’t actually said. 

Beca throws the door open and is greeted with Jesse’s slightly apologetic expression and, surprisingly, Benji’s excited one. She smirks and turns around to make popcorn for Jesse without even being asked. 

The following dialogue is a jumble in Beca’s head:

Jesse: I’m so sorry he’s here.

Benji: So this is what a girl’s room looks like!

Jesse and Benji in unison: Hey, Beca!

Jesse: So I don’t even need to ask for popcorn anymore, huh? 

Jesse: Did you miss me? Did you even think about me?

Benji: Where do girls keep their socks?

Jesse: How’s your break been?

Beca turns around from the microwave in time to see Jesse’s lips moving as the last sentence spills from his mouth, so she takes a risk.

“Good. Weird.”

“I heard you guys are back in the competition! Congrats! I knew you had it in you.” Jesse makes himself comfortable on Beca’s bed as Benji still stands awkwardly near the door. 

“Um, thanks. Congratulations to you guys too.”

“Thanks!” Jesse smiles over at Beca, who’s barely taken her eyes off Jesse’s lips since he came in. Beca realizes that her plan is failing because she can see that it’s having some sort of effect on him, and if his facial expression wasn’t enough proof-

“Why are you staring at my lips?” 

Obviously, his lips don’t move as his thoughts wash over Beca, who sputters and turns back to the microwave.

“You can sit down anywhere, Benji!” she forces out. She focuses on the popping noises and the microwave’s hum to avoid any more invasive thoughts. She thanks her lucky stars that Kimmy Jin’s not back yet to add to the chaos. 

She starts to think that maybe, if she just talks all night, she won’t have to worry about intercepting anyone’s thoughts. She takes the popcorn out of the microwave and turns around to toss it to Jesse. She sits at her desk chair across from Benji and Jesse, who are now both seated on her bed. And she starts her next tactic.

“So Chloe got her nodes out! Uh, I think that might’ve been a secret. Please don’t tell anyone... Yeah she didn’t think we’d be back in competition. I don’t think she ever planned on singing again which is actually kinda sad, since her voice is so perfect. And… I’ve been wasting time at the radio station all week. Luke made me promise not to play too much of my own stuff but I’ve been pushing the limit lately. And that’s pretty much been my break, nothing too exciting. Um… maybe I can play you guys one of my mixes right now!”

Beca shoots up and her head collides with the underside of an obnoxious shelf that juts out of the wall at just the right height. 

“Oh, fuck!” Beca grabs her head and squeezes her eyes shut.

“Jesus, Beca are you alright?” Jesse’s by her side in record time. “Why are you acting so weird?”

Benji pipes in too. “You’re not acting like yourself at all!”

“I’m _not_ acting weird! This is how I always am!” Beca shouts, mostly out of pain and frustration from hitting the shelf. She finally opens her eyes and takes her hand off her head. And then immediately wants to crawl under her bed because Jesse and Benji are looking at her like she has ten heads.

“Neither of you called me weird, did you.”

They both shake their heads, expressions not changing at all. 

“Right. Well. Sorry about that outburst then.” She slumps back into her chair, wishing she could melt through the floor. 

“Are you alright Beca? You seem… well, yeah. Weird.” Jesse laughs, his rare self consciousness peeking through.

Beca sighs, rubbing the sore spot on her head. 

“Do you guys know anything about telepathy?”

She immediately regrets saying anything when Jesse and Benji share a brief, yet significant glance at each other. 

“Okay, yeah, forget I said anything, I-”

“Well it depends if you’re talking about defense, illusion, or manipulation. Because the thing I really know the most about is manipulation. You know, like a neural jumpstart or retrocognition or cyberpathy. But if you want I can look into psionic shields and telepathic camouflage for you!” Benji is practically vibrating as he interrupts with possibly the first thing he’s said all night. 

He must be able to read the room for once because he looks around and says, “What? I read a lot of comic books.”

Beca sits with that for a second, then grabs at her one chance of sanity. “Right. So, maybe you’ll understand.” She takes a deep breath before continuing. “I’ve been having a lot of thoughts that aren’t mine lately? And they’ve been really… overwhelming. I think they’re why I passed out at the semi finals.”

Benji just nods. “Manipulation.”

Jesse, on the other hand, just blushes. “You weren’t _overwhelmed_ by either of our thoughts just now, right?”

Benji’s eyes go wide at his own sudden realization. “I’ve never wanted to know someone with super powers any less than right now.”

Beca has no idea what to say. She wants to gain their trust about her ability but also doesn’t want to scare them away. So she ignores them. 

“So _why_ is this happening to me? Why now? Why not when I was like, going through puberty or something?”

Benji thinks for a second. “Did you happen to fall into any radioactive goo lately?”

“No.”

“Get electrocuted?”

“Nope.”

“Are either of your parents non-mortals?”

“Benji what? No. They’re perfectly normal. Well, like, you know. They’re humans at least.”

“I guess it can only be one other thing then.” His eyes suddenly focus on anything but Beca. “Have you... kissed someone new lately? Someone that, maybe, you love?”

Beca’s heart flips. He’s gotta be kidding. “What is this, a fairy tale?” She tries to laugh it off, but Benji and Jesse are both looking at her seriously. “ _No_.” She reconsiders. “Not on the lips.”

Benji shakes his head. “It doesn’t actually matter where. That’s the thing all those fairy tales got wrong. Only very few people know the truth. Like people who got special access to the science fiction fanzines archive for their tenth birthday. Those kind of people.”

“Um, alright. Yes. Someone kissed me on the cheek. And I guess it felt significant.” (Understatement of the year)

“And then you immediately started to hear voices and fainted?”

Beca starts to panic a bit. She’s not quite sure why, but she’s not ready for the boys to piece together who kissed her quite yet. “Well not immediately, but pretty soon afterwards, yeah.”

Benji nods with a sort of finality. “Mindlink Mates.”

“My _what_?!”

“Mindlink Mates. It’s when two people come together and become aware of the other. Sometimes people actually develop manipulation, like you did, and sometimes they just develop empathy. Not the kind of empathy that anyone with a heart feels, but the ability to sense how other people feel without even speaking, and possibly _always_ sensing how their mate feels. Basically like how You-Know-Who and Harry were with each other.” 

“But I don’t know how she feels right now.” 

Jesse suddenly comes out of his trance. “She?!”

Fuck. That certainly narrows it down a bit.

Benji ignores Jesse’s outburst, seemingly on a mission. “Are you sure you don’t know how she feels?”

Beca closes her eyes. She’s grateful for the distraction. What is Chloe feeling at the moment? Anxiety. Fear. A slight pounding on the surface of her head. No. That’s what Beca’s feeling. Dig deeper, further down. 

Imagine her eyes, her hair, the feeling of her lips on her cheek. Strawberry shampoo. And then first steps. First words. First heartbreak, Jack Porter kissing you behind the bleachers and not writing you all summer, first slow dance, first funeral, first time with Tom, first time getting sick from being too drunk. Spotting Beca during the club fair. Walking in on her in the shower. Watching her audition. Telling her you’ll be fast friends. Feeling shocked when you hear her rap for the first time. Beca’s eyes. Beca’s hair. Fear. Anxiety. And a little bit of numbness in your throat.

“Earth to Beca?”

Beca opens her eyes. Jesse and Benji are looking at her like the next thing out of her mouth will be the numbers for a winning lottery ticket worth a billion dollars. 

“Okay, yeah, I know how she feels.”

* * *

“ _Why_ are we here again?” Beca groans. She can already hear stranger’s thoughts shooting through her brain.

“Because it’s the only place open this late that we can actually get into without fake IDs”, Jesse explains for the tenth time, barely holding back his excitement. “And we want to test your powers.”

“I told you to stop calling it that!”

The three of them are standing in the produce section of the only 24/7 supermarket in the area, probably looking pretty ridiculous. 

“So are you gonna tell us who it is?” There’s excitement there, but also a hint of judgement, maybe a little jealousy. And overall, a sense of protection. 

“I can’t, Jess. Not yet.”

As she looks into his eyes, she hears a familiar inner voice. “I bet I could guess who she is with one try.” 

Beca can’t help but feel like Jesse’s invading her privacy. Which is pretty ironic since she literally just overheard his thought. She almost bites back but stops when her phone starts to vibrate in her pocket. She takes it out and sees Chloe’s profile picture filling the screen. “I’ll be back in a second, guys.”

She makes sure she’s securely in the canned goods aisle before answering the call. She almost drops her phone in the process because she’s more nervous now than she’s felt all night.

“Heyyy, Chloe.” Nice. Super casual.

“Beca? Are you okay?”

Beca hides her groan and rests her head against some canned vegetable soup. “Yeah, Jesse is just pissing me off.”

“Okay, yeah, cool.” She sounds distracted. “Hey, can we talk? Maybe in person? I just got back to campus and I know it’s really late but I really wanna talk to you and-”

“Chlo? Are _you_ okay?” Beca holds back a laugh. She knows Chloe probably feels as crazy as she does. Just doesn’t know the specific reason yet.

“I think I have feelings for you.”

_Oh._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I've already been on an entire journey with this fic even though it's only the second chapter. And I may be America's leading expert on telepathy now. 
> 
> Follow me on tumblr @brittanysnowshands and let me know what you thought about this chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

Music has always been there for Chloe in a way that words haven’t. Not that she’s terrible at speaking, but Chloe has always thought that if life was like a huge musical there wouldn’t be so much miscommunication in the world. She has a theory that there is music to fit every mood under the sun, no matter how complicated the feeling is. Jealousy, nostalgia, grief, whatever, a sympathetic song is only a google search or spotify discovery away. She has always used music as a love language, making playlists as soon as she has feelings for someone and sharing the playlist with them the second she knows they like her back (and sometimes even earlier than that). And since there’s music to fit every mood, of course, there’s her lady jams. Songs that _really build_. 

She thinks that if anyone understands how she feels about music it’s Beca. She’s known about her music taste since the first time Beca shyly shared a mix with her. The way she can take two seemingly incompatible songs and combine them flawlessly based on her gut feeling alone is crazy to Chloe. 

If Chloe’s being honest, her appreciation for Beca’s music taste goes even farther back than that, to the time she was showering in the communal bathroom and heard Beca singing David Guetta a few stalls down. Even though Beca was only distractingly singing in the shower, Chloe knew she had talent. Knew she understood the words she was singing and connected with them. She thinks that’s why she fought so hard for Beca to join the Bellas (that, and she has a rocking bod. Chloe’s not blind).

So really, she shouldn’t be surprised when she finds herself falling for Beca as soon as they spend a little more time together. She’s knows it’s in her head, but she can’t help but think that every time Beca sings, she’s singing to Chloe. On more than one occasion, her eyes had drifted over to Beca on some bold song lyrics such as “How could a person like you bring me joy?”, only to find Beca already watching her. Like she said, all in her head. 

Preshow jitters and all of the previous reasons gives Chloe the confidence to flirt with Beca and kiss her cheek right before performing in the semifinals. Her cheek was just _right there_ and Beca looked so nervous and adorable that Chloe couldn’t help herself. She almost laughs when Beca freezes in her spot, but doesn’t have time to because they’re immediately filing onto the stage. 

Their performance starts without a hitch, but by the second verse Chloe hears something that they definitely did not rehearse. Two bellas over, one word rings out in perfect pitch. 

“ _Drea-ea-ea-ea-eam_ ”

Almost in slow motion, Chloe looks over at Beca, who is _staring_ at Chloe as she sings the word. 

Chloe looks back over at Aubrey, expecting her to look pissed, but surprisingly her expression hasn’t changed at all. In fact, no one looks phased. Chloe puts on her best poker face.

And Beca, to her credit, continues. 

“ _dream, dream, dream_

_Drea-ea-ea-ea-eam_

_dream, dream, dream”_

Beca had remained in her spot for the first verse, but to Choe’s horror, she begins walking over to Chloe in beat to the song, continuing the next verse.

“ _When I want you in my arms_

_When I want you and all your charms_

_Whenever I want you, all I have to do is_

_Drea-ea-ea-ea-eam, dream, dream, dream._ ”

Chloe takes a millisecond to wonder how long Beca’s been working on this mashup, because it actually sounds really good against the rest of the girls’ rendition of The Sign. 

And then she immediately freaks out again when Beca reaches for her hand and spins her, then takes her hands and leads her out of the line. 

“ _When I feel blue in the night_

_And I need you to hold me tight_

_Whenever I want you, all I have to do is_

_Drea-ea-ea-ea-eam_ ”

Beca smirks as she spins Chloe again and leads her back into the line, then begins to walk backwards to her spot as she sings her last verse.

“ _I need you so that I could die_

_I love you so and that is why_

_Whenever I want you, all I have to do is_

_Drea-ea-ea-ea-eam, dream, dream, dream._ ” 

And with her eyes locked with Chloe’s, right as both songs come to an end, Beca collapses. 

The curtains close and Chloe is at her side immediately. The rest of the girls gather around too, and Beca quickly regains consciousness. She assures everyone that she’s fine, but when she looks at Chloe, she seems shaken.

Once Chloe is sure that Beca’s okay, she stays back with Aubrey as they walk to the bus. 

“So you’re okay with Beca’s improvisation?” She can’t imagine why Aubrey isn’t fuming.

“What, her fainting? I mean, it wasn’t my favorite thing in the world, but it’s not like she could help it. I can’t exactly complain about bodily malfunctions on stage.” 

Aubrey gives her a smile before grabbing a seat with Stacie. Chloe takes her own seat in the back, wondering what the hell just happened. 

* * *

After the Bellas only come in third, Chloe decides to get her surgery over with. Somehow, Chloe’s surgeon has an opening in his schedule and she’s able to have her nodes removed over spring break. She sees it as closure for the fact that she’s never going to sing professionally again, something she’s known was coming for a while but she didn’t realize would happen so soon. 

The Bella’s groupchat has been pretty quiet since the semi finals besides discussion of Amy’s viral video combining both Aubrey’s and Beca’s iconic finales. Chloe knows that Beca probably blames herself for losing the competition, which Chloe would only slightly agree with if the live mashup actually happened. 

However, when she reviewed the video, nothing was out of the ordinary until Beca fainted. She felt like she was going crazy a second time when she saw that Beca stayed in her spot the entire time, as did Chloe. The only weird thing in the video was Beca looking kind of distracted at the very beginning of the song, as if she heard something and was looking for the source. Chloe studies herself over and over again, looking for any sign of her and Beca’s unexpected duet, but finds nothing. She did the choreography perfectly. 

She drives herself up a wall trying to figure out what happened. Was it a weird version of stage fright? Dehydration? Did she fall asleep on stage, sleep walk the entire performance, and dream what happened? The only thing that takes her mind off of it is the anesthesia.

When she wakes up after her surgery, she’s already thinking about it again. She’s still pretty high when she texts Beca about getting her nodes out and instantly forgets about the conversation once she sends Beca her hospital’s address. Her surgeon distracts her when he comes in to check on her and tries his best to makes light conversation despite Chloe’s inability to speak.

“So, you did collegiate a cappella, huh?”

Chloe smiles and nods.

“That’s great. I thought about chasing a singing career for a little while, but I decided to join my dad’s practice instead. Hell of a lot of more school, but hey, now I can help other people’s voices.” He smiles sadly and turns to leave, but when he reaches the door he does a quick turn and buries his head in his arms against the wall.

Chloe does a quick look around the room, wondering if she should press the emergency button or something. Her finger is lingering over the button when she hears, _oh god_ , the swell of music in her hospital room.

Now she’s wildly looking around but doesn’t have time to figure it out because her surgeon begins to quietly _sing._

“ _Oh yes I'm the great pretender_

_Pretending I'm doing well_

_My need is such I pretend too much_

_I'm lonely but no one can tell._ ”

He turns his head and looks at Chloe, then walks to the empty bed next to her and lies down with his knees to his chest.

“ _Oh yes I'm the great pretender_

_Adrift in a world of my own_

_I play the game but to my real shame_

_You've left me to dream all alone_ ”

The surgeon moves to face Chloe and rests his head on his fist, in a sad version of the “draw me like one of your French girls” position.

“ _Too real is this feeling of make-believe_

_Too real when I feel what my heart can't conceal_ ”

The music begins to quiet down, and the doctor slowly gets to his feet and grabs his chart. 

“ _Oh yes... I'm the great pretender._ ”

As if nothing happened, he gives Chloe a smile before ducking out of the room. Then he comes right back in with a small whiteboard and marker.

“Forgot about this! Any questions before I leave for the night?”

Chloe feels like this is her last chance at sanity. She has to know if there’s any truth behind the songs she’s been hearing.

“Do you ever feel like you’re faking your way through life?”, she writes on the board. Yeah, it’s bold. But hopefully it gets its point across.

The surgeon chuckles. “Show me one person who’s living out their whole truth, and I’ll give you a million dollars. Everyone has to pretend in life, at least a little bit. See you tomorrow, Chloe. We’ll get your beautiful voice back soon.” 

Chloe sits in shock for what feels like a few minutes, but once she looks up at the clock she realizes it’s actually been at least an hour. Well, shit. If everything that her surgeon sang was true, then Beca _also_ meant what she sang. Chloe does her best to search her slightly drugged brain for the lyrics of Beca’s impromptu performance. 

What did she say? She dreams about her, okay, innocent enough. She dreams about Chloe when she wants her. She dreams about Chloe when she’s sad and wants to feel held. And…Chloe’s stomach drops when she remembers the last verse. 

_I need you so that I could die_

_I love you so_

As far as Chloe knows, Beca’s not even interested in girls. When people sing songs, they don’t have to mean every lyric. Chloe would be lying if she said she could relate to every song she has ever performed.

But these aren’t normal songs. These are performances that are meant _just for Chloe_ , hidden from everyone else. Why would someone defy reality, physics, and whatever else had to happen just to communicate something they didn’t even mean? Yeah, Beca definitely meant what she sang. She _needs_ Chloe. And she’s in love with her. 

Chloe shakes her head, looking out the window at the Floridian sunset. How could she have missed such a huge change in her friend? How could she miss that Beca felt the same way she did? She must have swept huge hints under the rug because of her disbelief of the truth and false hope that wasn’t actually so false. It’s just that Chloe always goes ahead and falls for her friends without being able to help it. And up until now, as far she knows, none of those friends felt the same way, guy or girl. With her heart constantly on her sleeve, she’d gotten used to the feeling. She and Aubrey have had countless pseudo breakup ice cream and movie nights since starting college. She’s gotten used to Aubrey’s sympathetic stares and warning glances when she laughs a little too hard at Beca’s awkward antics during rehearsal. 

Suddenly, Chloe’s heart swells with a pleasant, warm feeling underlaid with a little bit of anxiety. Without really thinking, she looks to her left, and finds Beca standing at the door. Chloe notes a bit of blush on Beca’s cheeks and she smiles at the fact that Beca is here, ensuring Chloe that Beca really does care about her, on at least the platonic level. Chloe’s heart soars when she notices the ice cream and flowers in Beca’s hands. She’s just really glad Beca’s here.

Beca looks up from her feet and says, “Well… yeah. Of course I’m here. Is that okay?”, and steps towards Chloe. 

The fact that Beca is talking as if they’re mid conversation throws her off. Chloe wonders if she said something out loud by accident, but that definitely would’ve hurt her throat like hell. She finally remembers that she has her whiteboard and leans over to grab it. She writes, “I didn’t say anything? :P Glad ur here tho!!”.

As soon as she holds up the whiteboard so Beca can read it, a strange look flashes across her face, and she practically trips into Chloe’s lap. Chloe feels her heart beat faster at the sudden close contact, but doesn’t have time to enjoy Beca’s hands on her legs for long before Beca pulls back like she’s been burned. She wonders what’s gotten into Beca, who’s acting really strange, even for her. 

_Is she making Beca this flustered?_

Beca leans against the other bed, and definitely _sounds_ flustered when she says, “So you… can’t speak?”.

Now it’s Chloe’s turn to shoot a strange look, and she reaches for her whiteboard once again to explain that no, she can’t speak for a few more days. 

But she doesn’t even bother writing that out because Beca pretty much topples onto the other bed, looking terrified.

And then Chloe hears five crystal clear guitar chords being played, one after the other. She barely has time to mouth “oh no” before Beca stands on the bed and starts singing.

“ _I remember when_

_I remember, I remember when I lost my mind_ ”

Beca bends over with her head in her hands. Chloe leans back and just smirks and nods supportingly. If this is a thing in her life now, she might as well try to enjoy it and make some sense of it.

_"There was something so pleasant about that place_

_Even your emotions had an echo, in so much space"_

Beca stands up straight and swivels towards Chloe, still towering above her.

_"And when you're out there without care_

_Yeah, I was out of touch_

_But it wasn't because I didn't know enough_

_I just knew too much_ ”

Beca then jumps high off the bed, strikes a pose in the air, and lands solidly on the ground next to Chloe.

“ _Does that make me crazy?_

_Does that make me crazy?_

_Does that make me crazy?_

_Possibly_ ”

As she sings, Beca walks slowly around the perimeter of Chloe’s bed, leaning in towards her and dragging her hand along the sheets.

“ _And I hope that you are having the time of your life_

_But think twice, that's my only advice_ ”

Beca hops onto the windowsill next to Chloe’s bed and rests her cheek on her fist as her elbow balances on her knee. She raises an eyebrow as she sings,

“ _Come on now, who do you_

_Who do you, who do you, who do you think you are?_

_Ha, ha, ha, bless your soul_

_You really think you're in control?_ ”

Then Beca hops down from the windowsill, and before Chloe can even process what’s happening, Beca is straddling her with her hands against the wall on either side of Chloe’s head. She smirks again, leans in, and sings,

“ _Well, I think you're crazy_

_I think you're crazy_

_I think you're crazy_

_Just like me_ ”

Chloe has no idea what to do with her hands. She has no idea what the difference between Song-Beca and Real-Life-Beca is and doesn’t want to be caught with her hand in the cookie jar, so to speak. Song-Beca is clearly teasing her, but this isn’t real life, is it? It’s not like real-life-Beca would ever do something like this. It gets increasingly hard not to move when she feels Beca’s breath tickling her ear. Chloe feels her own hands jerk to rest on Beca’s hips, but she catches herself.

“ _But maybe I'm crazy_

_Maybe you're crazy_

_Maybe we're crazy_

_Probably._ ”

Beca tucks Chloe’s hair behind her ear before pulling herself off Chloe. She hums the melody against the fading guitar and just as the song ends, she plops onto the bed next to Chloe’s. Chloe waits for her to say something, but she’s just staring back at Chloe with her mouth slightly open, like she’s in shock. 

Then, in a whirlwind of motion, Beca sweeps up the gifts she dropped earlier and puts them on Chloe’s bed. Chloe’s heart stops when Beca leans in again but she only kisses Chloe’s forehead before rushing out of the room, yelling, “bathroom!” over her shoulder as she exits.

* * *

Chloe hears more songs after that. Once she goes home, her mom sings a surprisingly good rendition of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", which results in an awkward conversation with her mom about her parents sex life. She does get some brownie points for “always knowing when something is wrong and being the best daughter ever” though. The next day her dad sings “Perfect” to her mom in the kitchen, which, gross, but she’s glad her new ability is helping the people around her.

She got a call from Aubrey right after Beca left, saying that the group that came in second at the semi finals was disqualified, and the Bellas were back in. Chloe decided that between Beca’s possible feelings and everything going on in her brain lately, she couldn’t handle keeping another secret from her best friend. Aubrey was clearly upset that Chloe might not be able to sing anymore, but she ultimately supported Chloe’s decision, especially because she thought they were done singing for good.

On Friday, Chloe returns to Barden. She tells herself she goes back early because she wants to get some work done on campus, but in the back of her mind is the fact that Beca never left for Spring Break.

Even though she’s heard multiple songs from multiple people, she can’t get Beca’s out of her head. She listens to “Crazy” over and over again to see if she can get anything out of it. By her fourth listen, she’s almost convinced there’s something going on in Beca’s head, too. But how the hell would she bring that up?

That’s why she never responds to Beca’s apology text for sprinting out of her hospital room. She thinks she and Beca are pretty good friends, but aren’t at the point where Chloe would feel comfortable spilling her guts over text. So, she takes the needed space and time to really figure things out.

She apparently gives herself too much time to think because she suddenly can’t take it anymore and finds herself leaving for Barden when it’s already dark out. Chloe doesn’t even know what she wants to say, but once she gets back to campus she immediately calls Beca, who answers after a few rings.

“Heyyy, Chloe.” She sounds pretty nervous.

“Beca? Are you okay?” Chloe feels pretty hopeful that something’s going on with Beca, too.

“Yeah, Jesse is just pissing me off.”

“Okay, yeah, cool.” Chloe pauses for a second to collect herself. “Hey, can we talk? Maybe in person? I just got back to campus and I know it’s really late but I really wanna talk to you and-”

“Chlo? Are _you_ okay?” Beca sounds like she’s smiling.

Truly? Chloe doesn’t know if she’s okay. Her friend that she’s been crushing on for the past few months might literally be in love with her, and the only reason she knows that is because of a superpower (??) where she hears songs in her head. And the thought of Beca loving her makes her feelings even stronger than before. Like, forget wearing her heart on her sleeve, she’s ready to rip her sleeves right off and tattoo her feelings on her arm for everyone to see. She wants to be able to hold Beca’s hand and kiss her when she wants to instead of chickening out and kissing her cheek instead. The sudden realization that she’s in love with Beca comes to Chloe’s mind as clearly as the songs she’s been hearing. Chloe’s chest suddenly feels so full that she feels like if she doesn’t admit something, it’ll burst.

Without being able to stop herself, she says, “I think I have feelings for you.”

She takes a deep breath, and on the other line, she hears nothing. Chloe’s frozen until she hears Beca speak very quietly.

“ _Oh._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist for the inspiration. Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Follow me on tumblr @brittanysnowshands and let me know what you thought about this chapter!


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